[New lecture series] ‘Method, methodology and critique in international law’

Published 29 November 2020

T.M.C. Asser Instituut 

In December 2020, the Asser Institute will launch a new lecture- and workshop series on ‘Method, methodology and critique in international law’. The aim of the lecture series, targeted at international law researchers, is to explore various new ways of ‘doing’ international legal scholarship, and is set to include a dozen lectures across 2020-2021 (see below for programme and speakers).

The series will kick off on December 16 (14.00 hours, on Zoom), with speakers Wouter Werner (VU Amsterdam) and Asser researcher Dimitri van den Meerssche, who will introduce the series and set out the stakes of methodological reflection. Interested researchers can join the conversation, by registering here.

Background

In recent decades, the field of international law has seen a multiplication of methodological approaches, a growing variation in methods and a critical reflection on central epistemological and stylistic registers. Changes in the course of the discipline have thereby often been fueled not by new substantive claims in existing (doctrinal, analytical or political) controversies, but through the emergence of different modes of seeing, thinking and writing. 

The aim of the new Asser lecture and workshop series is to explore various new ways of ‘doing’ international legal scholarship. This includes a focus on the opportunities, pitfall and politics of varying methodological approaches, their embedded epistemological, sociological or philosophical commitments as well as the particular technical crafts they demand.

Researchers participating in the workshops will not only gain a better grasp of how to position themselves in an increasingly complex methodological landscape. They will also enhance their understanding of what is at stake in the various ‘turns’ that are continuously performed in international law (such as the ‘turn’ to practice, history, discourse, political economy, critical sociology, materiality, geography or aesthetics to name but a few).

Would you like to join?

In the inaugural session on December 16 (14.00 hours CET, via Zoom), speakers Wouter Werner (VU Amsterdam) and Asser researcher Dimitri van den Meerssche, will introduce the series and set out the stakes of methodological reflection. You can join the conversation by registering here. You will receive a link prior to the event.

Lecture series: ‘Method, methodology and critique in international law’ Programme 2020 – 2021

16 December 2020 – 14.00.

Introducing the Asser workshop series on method, methodology and critique in international law – Dimitri Van Den Meerssche and Wouter Werner

20 January 2021 – 11.00.

Political economy – John Haskell and Ntina Tzouvala

17 February 2021 – 14.00.     

Historiography – Rose Parfitt and Nehal Bhuta

17 March 2021 – 14.00.        

Postcolonialism and critical race theory – Luis Eslava and Ayça Çubukçu

21 April 2021 – 14.00.           

Critical sociology and discourse analysis – Sara Dezalay and Antoine Vauchez

19 May 2021 – 14.00

STS and ANT – Marieke de Goede and Gavin Sullivan

9 June 2021 – 14.00.            

Legal anthropology and ethnography – Emma Nyhan and Matt Canfield

22 September 2021 – 14.00. 

Posthumanism and new materialism – Matilda Arvidsson and Sara Kendall

20 October 2021 – 14.00.     

Critical geography – Nik Rajkovic and Sofia Stolk

17 November 2021 – 14.00.

Architecture, space & design – Renske Vos and Amin Parsa 

15 December 2021 – 14.00.  

Aesthetics, affect & emotion – Emily Kidd White and Rebecca Sutton

December 2021 (dates tbc)

Concluding two day workshop with keynote speaker Gerry Simpson

Please click here to download the programme.